Jordan takes swipe at Turkey over troops for Iraq ( 2003-10-14 22:49) (Agancies)
Jordan's foreign minister on Tuesday implicitly criticised Turkey's decision
to send troops into their joint neighbour Iraq.
Marwan al-Muasher, speaking after talks in Luxembourg with Italian Foreign
Minister Franco Frattini, said Jordan welcomed the deployment of multi-national
peacekeeping forces in Iraq, but made clear this should not extend to
neighbours.
Turkey voted last week to send troops to Iraq at the request of the United
States. Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul was quoted as saying in Malaysia on
Tuesday they would stay for no longer than a year.
Muasher did not name Turkey directly, but was unambiguous.
"We do not think the introduction of forces by neighbouring countries is
particularly helpful," he told a news briefing.
"The Iraqis themselves have made that point clear many times and it is why
Jordan, for example, did not send peacekeeping troops to Iraq and chose instead
to train Iraqi security officers in Jordan."
Jordan has offered to train 30,000 Iraqi police on its own soil.
"We believe that neighbouring states should refrain from sending in military
troops to that country," he added.
Ankara's stand has been controversial at home and in Iraq.
Northern Iraq has a large Kurdish population, as does the bordering
southeastern area of Turkey, and many fear Turkey's real aim is to nip in the
bud any moves towards an independent Kurdish state.
Turkey's parliament refused permission for US and other forces to enter
Turkey and use it as a springboard for invading Iraq in this year's war to oust
Saddam Hussein from Baghdad.
